Tuesday, September 23, 2014

This Is Where I Leave You

Despite its unfortunate title, Shawn Levy’s This
Is Where I Leave You is a family dramatic comedy that grows on
you.In that regard, it mimics the story
of a dysfunctional family drawn to the funeral of the head of the family.There are all the hesitations and little
quarrels before the fun and bigger quarrels erupt.

Jane Fonda, who plays the deceased’s wife,
insists that the family observes the Jewish tradition of shiva, which is a 7-day ritual of sitting together in memory while
friends and relatives come by to offer their condolences.She, however, is not Jewish, her husband was
an atheist and none of the children are practicing the faith of their father’s
ancestors.But, it all makes for the fun
and pathos Writer Jonathan Tropper has brought about in both his novel and the
film.

The cast is splendid, including Jason
Bateman, Tina Fey, Rose Byrne, Kathryn Hahn, Connie Britton and Timothy
Olyphant.And, the best parts are seeing
some of these great performers working together, such as a scene where Tina Fey
rests her head on Jane Fonda’s recently enhanced breasts...

....or when Kathryn Hahn, who
plays the eldest brother’s wannabe-pregnant wife, tries to get the more fertile
brother played by Jason Bateman to impregnate her.

As I said at the top, This Is Where I Leave You build
in both laughs and substance.It started
out as a 3+, but ended up a 4+ out of 5.

About Me

Brian Porzak: I am a cinephile who likes to view films with a live audience. My taste runs the gamut, including indies, studio films, foreign films and most all genres. Because I see so many films, friends often ask me what to see. So, I thought I'd blog about what is worth seeing or not. As a writer/filmmaker myself, I hope to give a more uplifting perspective than the typical critic. Filmmaking is tremendously difficult. Just because some problems might exist in a particular work does not, necessarily, destroy its enjoyability and I think that is necessary to point out to would-be viewers.
See www.Aix-en-Film.com